Retort or still.



J. H, GASTNA, RETRT 0R STILL. ,PBLIGATION FILED 1920.13, 1911A Mmmm may. 3L ma ..40 of the retort.

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. I a JOHN CASTONA7 0F LAINE, MISSISSIPPI, ASSIGNOR '1;0 CASTONA IMPROVED EROCESS CO., F GULFPORT, MISSISSIPPI, A CURPORATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

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Specicationof .'lietters Patent. Patentdi ligar, 31, glL

Application filed December 13, 1911. `Serial No. 665,422. l

Tool-whom it' may concern i Be it known that I, JOHN H. CASTONA, a

citizen of the United States, residing atv Laine, in the county of Jackson and State' ofF Mississippi, have invented new and. useful Improvements in Retorts or Stills, of which the following is a speciication.

This invention relates to retorts for extracting anddistilling' turpentine, resin, 10 pine oil, tar, alcohol and other distillable eiiicient in operation and inexpensive of pros.

'i duction; which may be conveniently handled by a single attendant, with resultant economy in labor and cost of operation;

,which is adapted for employing either dry or moist heat, or both, as circumstances may require; *which 'enables small quantities of' waste material to be profitably used and the distillates to be obtained without liability of injury from excessive heat; and which is I adapted to permit of the use of suitable i solvents for theextraction' et certain substances, when occasion demands.

` The invention consists of the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described and claimed, reference being had .to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 isa sectional perspective view of a retort or still constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sec-g.

tion through the top of the retort. Fig. 3 is a detail section on line 3-3 of Fig. l through the hinge 'joint of thetop head or c'over; ,.Fig. 4 is a detail sectioiithrough the bottom Referring to the drawings, l designates a retort cylinder having a removable bottom 2 provided with a seat ring or flange 3 adapted to tit frictionally within the lower .(15 end of the cylinder and 'form a fluid and. l, ni'oi'sture-tiglit joint. Secured to 'the top of the cylinder is` an abutment ring 3 provided in its upper face with a 'depressed an* ynular groove to receive a'pacling ring or' gasket 5. Thisabutment ring is riveted or f otherwise'fastenedto the cylinder and is provided' at o-ne side wi th a pair/of rkpivot ears 6,at its diamet-ricall'y opposite end with a guide groovegor, slot 7, and between 1said ears and guide slot with a series of pairsl of' spaced lugs 8.

The lid or cover 9 is provided for closing the top of the retort, and is adapted to be set within and upon the ring 3 'and against the packing gasket 5, to prevent the escape of heat and volatile elements from the retort. The said lid 9 is provided withfa reinforcement plate 10, which prevents it from 'warping or buckling by the action of the heat, and is formed at one side with a V- shaped or segmental flange 11 from which extends a socketed arm 12, adapted to'it' between the pivot ears 6. At the side diametrioally opposite said flange 11 and arm 1 2 the lid is provided with a guide projection 13 adapted to engage the'guidc groove or slot 7, whereby the lid may be always ac- Y curately centered and fitted in position.

Formed upon the rim edgefof the lid between the flange 11 and guide projection 13 are pairs of spaced lugs 14;, adapted to be engaged by bolts hinged to the ears 6 of the abutment ring 3 and provided with winged clamping nuts 16, 'which bolts are adapted to'swing into and out of engage-` ment with said lugs 14 to'clainp or release the lid. In clamping the lid in position, the bolts are swung upwardly into engagement with the lugs 14: and the nuts 16 tightened v to clamp the flid firmly down upon the gasket 5. Inv releasing thc lid, the nuts 16 are loosened and thebolts l5 swung lout of eilgagement with the lugs 8, whereupon the lid may' be adjusted to open position.

The arm .12 is formed at its inner end with a slot 17 adjustably receiving a block 18, which pivotally supports the lid from` the-earsG, whereby the lid may 'be tilted in a vertical plane from open to closedpositions, and vice versa. Supported by the ar'm 12 is an adjusting screw 19 which engages the block and is provided with a hand wheel 2O whereby thearin and lid may be adjusted on .the pivotal support to regulate the seating of the lid against. thegasket 15,1as well as to permitthe lid tobe pried up fromthe gasket without injury tothe latter, in the l.event that th lid should stick. The arm 12 i' i 1, is socketed to slidably and adjustably 'res Aadapted. to be secured thereto by a set screw ceive a telescopic'extension arm section .21

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22, and which carries at its outer end a coui'iterweight 23,'wl1ich approximately bal.

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ances the weight ofthe lid, thelatter to be opened .and closed With a minimum amo-unt of effort on the part of the operator. By ad-v justing the arm 21 in or out, it Will be apparent that the counterweight leverage may be varied as desired.

Secured tothe interior of the cylinder 1 is a. fixed bottom or partition 24 arranged above and in spaced relation to the removable' bottom head'2 to provide an intervening Water jacket or chamber 25. Resting at its lon'er edge upon this head or partition 2 4 is an inner removable cage or cylinder 26, adapted to receive and contain the substances to be distilled or processed. This cage 26 is provided With a fixed perforated bottoni 27 secured thereto above its lower edge so as to be spaced from the head 24 to provide Va collection space` or chamber 28. The cage is adapted to be applied and removed through the top of the retort when the lid is open and is of lessdiameter than the retort to provide an intervening dead air space 29, by Which the contents of the cage lare protected from any excess heat to which the retort cylinder may be subjected. In

practice, the retortsis made of a convenient size to bev readilyl portable and to-be set Within a furnace or re -box so as-to be operated with furnace heat, so that either 'kind of heat or a combination of the same may be employed, as circumstances' may require. The retort may also be used infconnection With portable lire boxes or heaters of any desired type.

Secured at its lower end to the perforated cage bottom 27 is a perforated steam supply pipe 30 extending vertically through the cage and through the registering openings 31 in the lid and its reinforcement plate', said pipe vbeing provided at its upper end with a coupling member 32, whereby it may be nattached. to a hose or conductor leading from a suitable steam generator. Below the lid the pipe 30 is provided with apacking flange l33, and above said flange 'the pipe is threaded to receive a lever nut 34, whereby it may be clamped to the lid and the flange 33 drawn against the lid to form a steamtight4 connectionf This construction also permits of the disconnection of the pipe from the lid, when it is desired to rem ve the cage 26. Communicating With other registering openings 35 in the lid and reinforcement plate is a dome or outlet connection 36 securely fastened to the lid and adapted to be coupled to a pipe`or conductor leading to a condenser. Through this dome or connection the vaporized distillates discharge from the retort and pass to the condenser for liquefaction. Passing through another set of registering openings 37 in the lid and reinforcement plate is a pipe 38 provided with a controlling valve 39, and connected at its lower end with a coiled sprayer or injector of charcoal.

vided with a controlling valve 42, whereby the said cage or cylinder 26 may be supplied with water under service pressure, from the chamber 25 under certain conditions, hereinafter described. CommunicatingWith the space or chamber 28 is a drain pipe 43 extending outwardly through'the head 2 and provided at its outer end with a controlling valve 44. This pipe is designed for the discharge of the rosin and other solid constituents extracted from the material under treatment, and for the withdrawal of any Water Which may remain after the extracting operation Within the cage 26 or space 2S. The outer portion of the pipe 43 is inclosed by a larger pipe 45 forming a Water jacket which is secured at-its-inner end to the head 2 and. communicates with-the Water jacket 25 and communicates at its outer end With a water supply pipe 46 having a controlling Valve 47. Through the pipe 46 and chamber or jacket 45 Water may be supplied to the jacket 25 to keep the heads 2 and 24 and the bottom of the retort cool, as Well asv to cool` steam safety valve '53, forobvi'ous purposes. I

The device'lnay be ,employed for extracting turpentine, resin, pine'oil, tar and other distillable-products or properties from pitch pine Wood, t'or distillingalcohol from any suitable material, and for the manufacture In the distilling process,l furnace heat may be employed alone, or steam injected throughthe pipe 30 and tliemass of material therein, to heat the same to the desired degree, or by using bothfurnace heat and steam the operation may be rapidly, conveniently and more efficiently carried out at( a minimum expense. By supplying lWater to the cage 26v through the pipe 4l, steam may be generated` on thel interior of the said'- cage to facilitate extraction and to provide for the' flow of the y,extracted vaporous distillates with a watery vapor to the condenser. T e charge of Woodor other material to be treated is placed within the'cage 26 and is subjected tothe action' of the heat from the Ilso rename furnace or from the steam supplied, or' both, wherebyl-the volatile. solid constituents are extracted, the volatile constituents passing out throughithe dome 36 to the condenser and the solid constituents Q discharging through the perforated bottom 27 into the chamber-28 and thence through the pipe 43 to' a suitable receptacle. 0n their discharge, the solid constituents are protected fromjift'.'

V juryby excess heat through the cooling of solvent.

It will, ofcourse, understood that the 4degree of internal heat may be maintainedand regulated by regulating "the flow of `steam through the pipe 30, and it will be seen that by arranging the cage in spaced 'relation to the retort l the cage will be protectedby the dead air space from the'direct heat from the furnace.

In using the device as a turpentine retort,

` the Wood may be in ground or comminuted condition and'is placed in the cage'26, l*the cage supplied with water through the p'ipe 41 to the degree desired, and both steam and furnaceV heat used to distilout the spirits.

f After the spirits are distilled, the Water of condensation maythen be drawn olf through a the`pip`e 43 and the resin liquefied by means of steam and drawn out through the same pipe. By the use of steam scorching of the material will be prevented. If desired, the wood in large pieces may be placed in the retort, the turpentine distilled out, the resin removed in the manner before described, and the wood converted into charcoal by means of lfurnace heat, In this case all the products will be taken from the wood, that which is extracted during the process of making charcoal being pine tar. It will be apparent that by mounting t.4 e lid in the manner described, it is balanced on a hinged joint, therefore it may be readily opened -sa and closed by a single operator and without the use of a power equipment. Such construction also permits of the ready removal lof a cage or the substitution of another cage for recharging the retort, without loss of time to permit the retortto cool oli", as prior to the removal of a cage suiiicient water may be run int-o the' retort to saturate the wood br refuse before removal, thus'preventing combustion' by exposure to' the air under great heat. By unscrewing aid removing .a retort cylinder,

' jacket and teriorly through the top of the the conductors 43 and 4.5 the head 2 may be detached sothat the surface forming the water jacket 25 may be cleansed of any accumulated deposit-s. These and other advantages of the invention will be readily understood yfrom the foregoing description.

Having'- thus described the invention., what I claim as new is:

l. In a retort or still, theA combination of aaretort cylinder, means for closing the upper end thereof, an elevated stationary head in the bottom of said cylinder, a removable head disposed below said stationary head and forming an intervening water jacket, a cage removably mounted within the cylinder and having a perforated bottom, forming with said stationary head an intervening collection chamber, means for Withdrawin theproducts from said chamber, means for supplying Water to the water jacket, and a valved overflow pipe for discharging the Water therefrom.

2. In a retort or still, the combination of lower end of said cylinder, a stationary head closing the cylinder above said removable head and forming van intervening jacket, a cage removably mounted within the cylinder and having anA elevated perforated bottom forming a chamber between the same and the stationary head, means for closing the top of the cylinder, a drain, pipe communicating with said chamber and extending outwardly through. the water jacket, an overflow pipe connected with the water jacket, a supply pipe'leading to the water forming a water jacket about the drain pipe, and means for supplyingwater to said supply pipe. j

3. In a retort or still, the combination of a retort cylinder, means rfor closing the upper end thereof, a removable head at the lend of saidcylinder, a stationary head a removable head at the above the removable head and forming an intervening water jacket, a cage removably mounted within the cylinder and provided with a perforated bottom forming achember between the same and stationary head, a steam' supply pipe connected with thepe'rforated bottom of the cage and extending upwardly therein within the cage and excylinder, a water supply pipe communicating with the jacket, a drain pipe communicating with the chamber and extending outwardly through the supply pipe, a second water.

supply pipe communicating at its upper end with the cylinder and at its lower end with the water jacket, an overflow pipe communicating with the Water jacket.

4. In a retort or still, the combination of at'retort cylinder, an abutment ring secured to the top of the cylinder and having an annular groove, a cage removably mounted within the cylinder and having a perforated means for clamping seid steam supply pipeto the lid o1- cover, means for clamping the lid or cover ,in closed position, and' means for counterbalancing the Weight of sind 11d or cover. v

5. In a retortk or still, the combination of' e retort cylinder, an abutment ring carried by said cylinder, u lid or cover plvoted to seid abutment ring, a removable cage Within the cage, a steam supply pipe connected Withthe cage and extending through the lid 15 or cover, means kfor detachably connecting. said pipe .with the lid or cover', a, vapor"A outlet carried by the lid or cover, means for clamping the cover in closed 'postong and moans fol" @untel-balancing the Weight 2g of the cover.

Intestmony whereof affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

, Witnessesr WILLIAM E.. v'.lrnrolyns),4 FRANK LINDNER- 

